For today’s Minted Real Wedding, we’re heading to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where Grace and Mike hosted a farmers’ market-inspired wedding on the grounds of an elegant winery. Beneath the lush canopy of a towering tree, the couple exchanged vows and then celebrated with their 117 guests during their alfresco garden luncheon.

Are you a Minted bride? If you’d like to submit your wedding for consideration, please email a brief description of your celebration and a link to your wedding photos to heather@minted.com.

Fall means comfort food, sweet scents, and cozy decor, and if you’re having a fall wedding, incorporating those details into your big day is always a good idea. A simple way to do it: Send your wedding guests home with one of these fall-inspired favors. Whether you’re into DIY or prefer ready-made pieces, here are 10 of my favorites fall favors from around the web.

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We are very excited to announce the start of a very exciting series… if you are in the Atlanta area, we do hope you can join us!

A big thanks to Joni Lay for hosting our first Makers Night where we will be making an inspiration board with Minted frames and fabric. We’re hoping to host these nights monthly so you’ll want to check this community page for upcoming Maker Nights. And if you’re a creative type with a teachable skill or craft, please do email PR@minted.com with an idea for a workshop you would like to host.

Wallpaper is back in fashion! And a wallpaper trend I’ve been seeing a lot of is the oversize mural, which pretty much takes over an entire wall. The look is different and dramatic, and definitely makes a bold statement. Lots of wallpaper companies are rolling out these larger prints and the look is trés chic, perhaps even a little Parisian. Here’s some I quite like.

The July issue of Inside Out magazine featured this pretty bedroom, with a beautiful mural acting as a stunning backdrop to the antique brass headboard.

In the Oh, Ovals! Art Print Challenge, we asked the Minted Community of artists to create a collection of cutting-edge artwork to display in our soon-to-come oval frames. We encouraged experimentation with new media and styles, and are incredibly happy with the results—this was a fun one for us and for our artists. Congratulations to the winners who stood out in our special prize categories below!

New Artist Award for the best art print by a new Minted artist: “Ice on a Lake” by Renée Anne Bouffard-McManus

We are so excited to have Renee in our artist community. We were very impressed with her series of strong submissions to this challenge. In particular, we are drawn to her beautiful piece “Ice on the Lake.” This monochrome watercolor study proves Renee’s watercolor expertise. The delicate balance of value in this monochrome piece is complemented by the subtle texture of the fluid watercolors. This piece is especially strong when paired with Renee’s other piece “Mist Rises Over the Water.” Welcome to the Minted team, Renee!

Quick! Halloween is this Friday and if you need a costume, like, STAT!, then check out this easy, DIY panda costume—it’s a cinch to make and can work for any age. Plus, you very likely have all the necessary supplies already at home. All you need is:

If pressed to pick my poison, tequila is always my drink of choice. This potent potion (the final concoction in our three-part Halloween cocktail series; be sure to also check out The Black Heart and Swamp Swill Martini) is spiked with just enough tequila flavor to counteract the sweetness of the apples, and I’ve added a few dry ice chips to the drink to create swirls of smoke—a cautionary warning about this sinister concoction…

At Minted, we think it’s never too early to surround children with beautiful art. So for our recent Never Too Early Kids’ Art Challenge, we asked the Minted Community to create original works of art—the cleverer the customization, the better! The art prints below really stood out and were winners in our Special Prize categories, and we couldn’t be happier about them! Congratulations to our Special Prize winners!

Veteran Minted artist Tanya of Frooted Design has captured the Customization Award with this incredible cityscape. Tall buildings mix with a water tower and billboard to create a dynamic scene. Set against a flat grey backdrop, the objects are created with thickly drawn lines resulting in a simple and elegant execution. Important birth details are called out on the various signage, “advertising” the important points of the big event.

See more Special Prize winners after the jump…

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Get those flashlights ready, cook up some ghoulish tales, and you’re ready for some Halloween shadow puppet theater. We love Halloween and all the spooky tales that go along with it, which is why we’ve created these DIY shadow puppets for you. All you have to do is download the template, print them out, and cut out the shapes. Then, let your kids’ imaginations go wild with tales of the witch on her broomstick, her haunted house, jet-black kitty, and more.

Keep reading for the DIY instructions and downloadable templates.

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